COMBER TO NEWCASTLE GREENWAY
“Mountains of Mourne Greenway”
Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea could be host to a greenway linking Newcastle up through the historic town of Downpatrick – with its working heritage railway – and on to Comber and the existing greenway link into Belfast.
ROUTE DETAILS
| Length | 55 kilometres |
| Estimate | £8.2 million |
| Location | 2026 to 2040 |
| Type | Former railway |
| Title | Belfast and County Down Railway |
| Border area | No |
| Councils | Ards and North Down Borough Council |
| Newry and Mourne District Council |
Article: Mountains of Mourne Greenway (October 2014)
“The first flourish of railway development in Ireland 150 years ago helped to establish towns like Newcastle into prime seaside tourist locations. While Bangor and Portrush still benefit from active railway links, Newcastle lost its rail connection in the 1950s.
The time is right to build a greenway sweeping all the way from Belfast to the Mourne Mountains – a signature tourism project which will promote the best we have to offer to the world, and drive significant economic redevelopment in this part of the country.”
IMAGES
PROGRESS UPDATES
Idea stage
Feasibility
Construction
Completed
June 2016: NMDC applies to Stage 1 of the DfI Small Grants Programme for Greenways competition
October 2016: Northern Ireland Greenways publishes article on “Mountains of Mourne Greenway”
November 2016: NMDC secures DfI £8,000 grant funding for a feasibility study
August 2017: Comber to Newcastle Greenway misses cut at DfI Small Grants Programme stage 3
August 2018: £25,000 funding announced for both “Downpatrick to Comber” and “Downpatrick to Newcastle” greenway projects
RESOURCES ELSEWHERE
Downpatrick and County Down Railway (Ireland’s only mainline heritage railway)
Tracking down lost railways of Ulster (Belfast Newsletter)
Sixty Years On… The Last Train From Downpatrick (Downpatrick & County Down Railway)
The Belfast and County Down Railway (Culture Northern Ireland)
Victorian Saintfield Railway Station goes on market for €1m (Irish Independent)
NI’s golden age of railways explored in new TV series (BBC News)
Exercise Explore Enjoy: A Strategic Plan for Greenways (Department for Infrastructure) PDF 2.8MB
Strategic Plan for Greenways Base Report (AECOM, Sustrans, DfI) PDF 15.7MB
GREENWAY PROJECTS WHICH INTERSECT
A 6km branch off the main Belfast to Newcastle railway line, this could be an important active travel link into Ballynahinch.
BANBRIDGE TO NEWCASTLE GREENWAY
A 35km route along the Great Northern Railway line between Banbridge, Castlewellan and the coastal town of Newcastle.
A popular 11km route developed by Sustrans along the old Belfast to Comber railway line opened in 2008 – the original Northern Ireland greenway.
COMBER TO NEWTOWNARDS GREENWAY
A proposed 9km route between Comber and Newtownards using a combination of railway alignment, roads and coastal defence walls.
DOWNPATRICK TO ARDGLASS GREENWAY
A branch line off the former Belfast and County Down Railway between Belfast and Newcastle, this 13km route could funnel tourists into Ardglass.
GET INVOLVED
Successful greenway projects are driven by the passion of local people. If you have an update to share, a story to tell about the history of the route or future of the Comber to Newcastle Greenway, or if you want to submit a picture or video to this page, please get in contact.